History

Map of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) 1889, showing Oklahoma as a train stop on a railroad line. Britannica 9th ed.

Oklahoma City was settled on April 22,[12] 1889, when the area known as the "Unassigned Lands" was opened for settlement in an event known as "The Land Run".[13] Some 10,000 homesteaders settled the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900.[14] Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton Classen, John Shartel, Henry Overholser and James W. Maney.

By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907, Oklahoma City had surpassed Guthrie, the territorial capital, as the population center and commercial hub of the new state. Soon after, the capital was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City.[15] Oklahoma City was a major stop on Route 66 during the early part of the 20th century; it was prominently mentioned in Bobby Troup's 1946 jazz classic, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66", later made famous by artist Nat King Cole.

Before World War II, Oklahoma City developed major stockyards, attracting jobs and revenue formerly in Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska. With the 1928 discovery of oil within the city limits (including under the State Capitol), Oklahoma City became a major center of oil production.[16] Post-war growth accompanied the construction of the Interstate Highway System, which made Oklahoma City a major interchange as the convergence of I-35, I-40 and I-44. It was also aided by federal development of Tinker Air Force Base.

In 1950, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 8.6% black and 90.7% white.[17]

As with many other American cities, center city population declined in the 1970s and 1980s as families followed newly constructed highways to move to newer housing in nearby suburbs. Urban renewal projects in the 1970s, including the Pei Plan, removed many older historic structures but failed to spark much new development, leaving the city dotted with vacant lots used for parking. A notable exception was the city's construction of the Myriad Gardens and Crystal Bridge, a botanical garden and modernistic conservatory in the heart of downtown. Architecturally significant historic buildings lost to clearances were the Criterion Theater,[19][20] the Baum Building,[21] the Hales Building,[22][23] and the Biltmore Hotel.[24]

In 1993, the city passed a massive redevelopment package known as the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), intended to rebuild the city's core with civic projects to establish more activities and life to downtown. The city added a new baseball park; central library; renovations to the civic center, convention center and fairgrounds; and a water canal in the Bricktown entertainment district. Water taxis transport passengers within the district, adding color and activity along the canal. MAPS has become one of the most successful public-private partnerships undertaken in the U.S., exceeding $3 billion in private investment as of 2010.[25] As a result of MAPS, the population living in downtown housing has exponentially increased, together with demand for additional residential and retail amenities, such as grocery, services, and shops.

Since the MAPS projects' completion, the downtown area has seen continued development. Several downtown buildings are undergoing renovation/restoration. Notable among these was the restoration of the Skirvin Hotel in 2007. The famed First National Center is being renovated.

Residents of Oklahoma City suffered substantial losses on April 19, 1995 when Timothy McVeighdetonated a bomb in front of the Murrah building. The building was destroyed (the remnants of which had to be imploded in a controlled demolition later that year), more than 100 nearby buildings suffered severe damage, and 168 people were killed.[26] The site has been commemorated as the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.[27] Since its opening in 2000, over three million people have visited. Every year on April 19, survivors, families and friends return to the memorial to read the names of each person lost.

The "Core-to-Shore" project was created to relocate I-40 one mile (1.6 km) south and replace it with a boulevard to create a landscaped entrance to the city.[28] This also allows the central portion of the city to expand south and connect with the shore of the Oklahoma River. Several elements of "Core to Shore" were included in the MAPS 3 proposal approved by voters in late 2009.

Geography

Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary corridors into Texas and Mexico, and is a three-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The city is located in the Frontier Country region in the center of the state, making it an ideal location for state government.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 620.34 square miles (1,606.7 km2),[29] of which, 601.11 square miles (1,556.9 km2) of it is land and 19.23 square miles (49.8 km2) of it is water. The total area is 3.09 percent water.

Oklahoma City lies in the Sandstone Hills region of Oklahoma, known for hills of 250 to 400 feet (120 m) and two species of oak: blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) and post oak (Q. stellata).[30] The northeastern part of the city and its eastern suburbs fall into an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers.[31]

The city is roughly bisected by the North Canadian River (recently renamed the Oklahoma River inside city limits). The North Canadian once had sufficient flow to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding areas, including the central business district and the original Oklahoma City Zoo.[32] In the 1940s, a dam was built on the river to manage the flood control and reduced its level.[33] In the 1990s, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low-water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flowing near downtown.[34] The city has three large lakes: Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser, in the northwestern quarter of the city; and the largest, Lake Stanley Draper, in the sparsely populated far southeast portion of the city.

The population density normally reported for Oklahoma City using the area of its city limits can be a bit misleading. Its urbanized zone covers roughly 244 sq mi (630 km2) resulting in a density of 2,500 per square mile (2013 est), compared with larger rural watershed areas incorporated by the city, which cover the remaining 377 sq mi (980 km2) of the city limits.[35]

Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in the nation in compliance with the Clean Air Act.[36]

Neighborhoods

Oklahoma City neighborhoods are extremely varied; pin-neat affluent historic neighborhoods sit next to districts that have not wholly recovered from economic and social decline of the 1970s and 1980s.

The city is bisected geographically and culturally by the North Canadian River, which basically divides North Oklahoma City and South Oklahoma City. The two halves of the city were actually founded and plotted as separate cities, but soon grew together. The north side is characterized by very diverse and fashionable urban neighborhoods near the city center and sprawling suburbs further north. South Oklahoma City is generally more blue collar working class and significantly more industrial, having grown up around the Stockyards and meat packing plants at the turn of the century, and is currently the center of the city's rapidly growing Latino community.

Downtown Oklahoma City, which has 7,600 residents, is currently seeing an influx of new private investment and large scale public works projects, which have helped to resuscitate a central business district left almost deserted by the Oil Bust of the early 1980s. The centerpiece of downtown is the newly renovated Crystal Bridge and Myriad Botanical Gardens, one of the few elements of the Pei Plan to be completed. In the next few years a massive new central park will link the gardens near the CBD and the new convention center to be built just south of it to the North Canadian River, as part of a massive works project known as Core to Shore; the new park is part of MAPS3, a collection of civic projects funded by a 1-cent temporary (seven-year) sales tax increase.

Climate

Oklahoma City has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), with frequent variations in weather daily and seasonally, except during the consistently hot and humid summer months. Prolonged and severe droughts (sometimes leading to wildfires in the vicinity) as well as very heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding and flooding occur with some regularity. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods. Severe ice storms and snowstorms happen sporadically during the winter.

The average temperature is 61.4 °F (16.3 °C), with the monthly daily average ranging from 39.2 °F (4.0 °C) in January to 83.0 °F (28.3 °C) in July. Extremes range from −17 °F (−27 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 113 °F (45 °C) on August 11, 1936 and August 3, 2012;[47] the last sub-zero (°F) reading was −5 °F (−21 °C) on February 10, 2011.[48] Temperatures reach 100 °F (38 °C) on 10.4 days of the year, 90 °F (32 °C) on nearly 70 days, and fail to rise above freezing on 8.3 days.[48] The city receives about 35.9 inches (91.2 cm) of precipitation annually, of which 8.6 inches (21.8 cm) is snow.

The report Regional Climate Trends and Scenarios for the U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA) from 2013 by NOAA, projects that parts of the Great Plains region can expect up to 30% (High emissions scenario based on CMIP3 and NARCCAP models) increase in extreme precipitation days by midcentury. This definition is based on days receiving more than one inch of rainfall.[49]

Weather

Oklahoma City has a very active severe weather season from March through June, especially during April and May. Being in the center of what is colloquially referred to as Tornado Alley, it is prone to especially frequent and severe tornadoes, as well as very severe hailstorms and occasional derechoes. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year and a secondary smaller peak also occurs during autumn, especially October. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is one of the most tornado-prone major cities in the world, with about 150 tornadoes striking within the city limits since 1890. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by thirteen violent tornadoes, eleven F/EF4s and two F/EF5.[50] On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby suburban communities suffered from one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F5 on the Fujita scale, with wind speeds estimated by radar at 318 mph (510 km/h).[51] On May 20, 2013, far southwest Oklahoma City, along with Newcastle and Moore, was hit again by a EF5 tornado; it was 0.5 to 1.3 miles (0.80 to 2.09 km) wide and killed 23 people.[52] Less than two weeks later, on May 31, another outbreak affected the Oklahoma City area, including an EF1 and an EF0 within the city and a tornado several miles west of the city that was 2.6 miles (4.2 km) in width, the widest tornado ever recorded.[53]

With 19.48 inches of rainfall, May 2015 was by far Oklahoma City's record-wettest month since record keeping began in 1890. Across Oklahoma and Texas generally, there was record flooding in the latter part of the month[54]

As of the 2010 census, there were 579,999 people, 230,233 households, and 144,120 families residing in the city. The population density was 956.4 inhabitants per square mile (321.9/km²). There were 256,930 housing units at an average density of 375.9 per square mile (145.1/km²).

There were 230,233 households, 29.4% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. One person households account for 30.5% of all households and 8.7% of all households had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.11.[61]

The median income for a household in the city was $48,557 and the median income for a family was $62,527. The per capita income for the city was $26,208. 17.1% of the population and 12.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.[62][63]

In the 2000 Census Oklahoma City's age composition was 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

Oklahoma City has experienced significant population increases since the late-1990s, when compared to the previous two-decades. In May 2014, the U.S. Census announced Oklahoma City had an estimated population of 620,602 in 2014 and that it had grown 5.3 percent between April 2010 and June 2013. Since the official Census in 2000, Oklahoma City had grown 21 percent (a 114,470 raw increase) according to the Bureau estimates. The 2014 estimate of 620,602 is the largest population Oklahoma City has ever recorded. It is the first city in the state to record a population greater than 600,000 residents and the largest municipal population of the Great Plains region (OK, KS, NE, SD, ND).

Metropolitan statistical area

Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight-county Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area in Central Oklahoma and is the state's largest urbanized area. Based on population rank, the metropolitan area was the 42nd largest in the nation as of 2012.[66]

Crime

With regards to Mexican drug cartels, Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious Juárez Cartel, but the Sinaloa Cartel has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City. There are many rival gangs in Oklahoma City, one whose headquarters has been established in the city, the Southside Locos, traditionally known as Sureños.[67]

Oklahoma City also has its share of very brutal crimes, particularly in the 1970s. The worst of which occurred in 1978, when six employees of a Sirloin Stockade restaurant on the city's south side were murdered execution-style in the restaurant's freezer. An intensive investigation followed, and the three individuals involved, who also killed three others in Purcell, Oklahoma, were identified. One, Harold Stafford, died in a motorcycle accident in Tulsa not long after the restaurant murders. Another, Verna Stafford, was sentenced to life without parole after being granted a new trial after she had previously been sentenced to death. Roger Dale Stafford, considered the mastermind of the murder spree, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1995.[68]

The Oklahoma City Police Department, has a uniformed force of 1,169 officers and 300+ civilian employees. The Department has a central police station and five substations covering 2,500 police reporting districts that average 1/4 square mile in size.

On April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by a fertilizer bomb manufactured and detonated by Timothy McVeigh. The blast and catastrophic collapse killed 168 people and injured over 680. The blast shockwave destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 340-meter radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, causing at least an estimated $652 million worth of damage. The main suspect- Timothy McVeigh, was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001. It was the deadliest single domestic terrorist attack in US history, prior to 9/11.

According to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 33 percent between 2001 and 2005 due chiefly to economic diversification. Its gross metropolitan product was $43.1 billion in 2005[74] and grew to $61.1 billion in 2009.[75]

In 2008, Forbes magazine named Oklahoma City the most "recession proof city in America". The magazine reported that the city had falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country and solid growth in energy, agriculture and manufacturing.[76] However, during the early 1980s, Oklahoma City had one of the worst job and housing markets due to the bankruptcy of Penn Square Bank in 1982 and then the post-1985 crash in oil prices.[citation needed]

In 2013, Forbes ranked Oklahoma City No. 8 on its list of the Best Places for Business and Careers.[77]

In 2014, Forbes ranked Oklahoma City No. 7 on its list of Best Places for Business.[78]

Business districts

Business districts, and to a lesser extent, neighborhoods tend to maintain their boundaries and character through the application of zoning regulations and business improvement districts (districts where property owners agree to a property tax surcharge to support additional services for the community).[79] Through zoning regulations, historic districts, and other special zoning districts, including overlay districts, are established.[80] Oklahoma City currently has three business improvement districts, including one encompassing the central business district.

Culture

Museums and theaters

Water taxis in Oklahoma City's downtown Bricktown neighborhood.

The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is the new downtown home for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its own collection, a theater showing a variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world including the 55-foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum's atrium.[81] The art deco Civic Center Music Hall, which was totally renovated in 2001, has performances from the Oklahoma City Ballet, the Oklahoma City Opera, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and also various concerts and traveling Broadway shows.

The Survivor Tree on the grounds of the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

The Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex) houses exhibits on science, aviation, and an IMAX theater. The museum formerly housed the International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF) that exhibits photographs and artifacts from a large collection of cameras and other artifacts preserving the history of photography. IPHF honors those who have made significant contributions to the art and/or science of photography and relocated to St. Louis, Missouri in 2013.

The Museum of Osteology houses more than 300 real animal skeletons. Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7,000 sq ft (650 m2) museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial in the northern part of Oklahoma City's downtown was created as the inscription on its eastern gate of the Memorial reads, "to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995"; the memorial was built on the land formerly occupied by the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building complex prior to its 1995 bombing. The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, located in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank devoted to the prevention of terrorism.

The American Banjo Museum located in the Bricktown Entertainment district is dedicated to preserving and promoting the music and heritage of America's native musical instrument – the banjo. With a collection valued at $3.5 million it is truly a national treasure. An interpretive exhibits tells the evolution of the banjo from its humble roots in American slavery, to bluegrass, to folk and world music.

The Oklahoma History Center is the history museum of the state of Oklahoma. Located across the street from the governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in northeast Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society. It preserves the history of Oklahoma from the prehistoric to the present day.

Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown is the principal multipurpose arena in the city which hosts concerts, NHL exhibition games, and many of the city's pro sports teams. In 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the major tenant. Located nearby in Bricktown, the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is the home to the city's baseball team, the Dodgers. "The Brick", as it is locally known, is considered one of the finest minor league parks in the nation.[citation needed]

Other major sporting events include Thoroughbred and Quarter horse racing circuits at Remington Park and numerous horse shows and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. There are numerous golf courses and country clubs spread around the city.

High school football

The state of Oklahoma hosts a highly competitive high school football culture, with many teams in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) organizes high school football into eight distinct classes based on the size of school enrollment. Beginning with the largest, the classes are: 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, A, B, and C. Class 6A is broken into two divisions. Oklahoma City area schools in this division include: Edmond North, Mustang, Moore, Yukon, Edmond Memorial, Edmond Santa Fe, Norman North, Westmoore, Southmoore, Putnam City North, Norman, Putnam City, Putnam City West, U.S. Grant, Midwest City.[82]

After a lackluster arrival to Oklahoma City for the 2008–09 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured a berth (8th) in the 2010 NBA Playoffs the next year after boasting its first 50-win season, winning two games in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2012, Oklahoma City made it to the NBA Finals, but lost to the Miami Heat in five games. In 2013 the Thunder reached the Western Conference semifinals without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who was injured in their first round series against the Houston Rockets, only to lose to the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2014 Oklahoma City again reached the NBA's Western Conference Finals but eventually lost to the San Antonio Spurs in six games.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has been regarded by sports analysts as one of the elite franchises of the NBA's Western Conference and that of a media darling as the future of the league. Oklahoma City has earned Northwest Division titles every year since 2009 and has consistently improved its win record to 59-wins in 2014. The Thunder is led by first year head coach Billy Donovan and is anchored by several NBA superstars, including perennial All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, 2014 MVP and four-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, and Defensive Player of the Year nominee and shot-blocker Serge Ibaka.

Hornets

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the NBA's New Orleans Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelicans) temporarily relocated to the Ford Center, playing the majority of its home games there during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. The team became the first NBA franchise to play regular-season games in the state of Oklahoma.[citation needed] The team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets while playing in Oklahoma City. The team ultimately returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007–08 season. The Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City during the exhibition season on October 9, 2007 against the Houston Rockets.

Parks and recreation

Sunset over Lake Hefner in northwest Oklahoma City.

Myriad Botanical Gardens, the centerpiece of downtown OKC.

One of the more prominent landmarks downtown is the Crystal Bridge at the Myriad Botanical Gardens, a large downtown urban park. Designed by I. M. Pei, the Crystal Bridge is a tropical conservatory in the area. The park has an amphitheater, known as the Water Stage. In 2007, following a renovation of the stage, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park relocated to the Myriad Gardens. The Myriad Gardens will undergo a massive renovation in conjunction with the recently built Devon Tower directly north of it.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is home to numerous natural habitats, WPA era architecture and landscaping, and hosts major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. Oklahoma City also has two amusement parks, Frontier City theme park and White Water Bay water park. Frontier City is an 'Old West'-themed amusement park. The park also features a recreation of a western gunfight at the 'OK Corral' and many shops that line the "Western" town's main street. Frontier City also hosts a national concert circuit at its amphitheater during the summer. Oklahoma City also has a combination racetrack and casino open year-round, Remington Park, which hosts both Quarter horse (March – June) and Thoroughbred (August – December) seasons.

Walking trails line Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest part of the city and downtown at the canal and the Oklahoma River. The majority of the east shore area is taken up by parks and trails, including a new leashless dog park and the postwar-era Stars and Stripes Park. Lake Stanley Draper is the city's largest and most remote lake.

Oklahoma City has a major park in each quadrant of the city, going back to the first parks masterplan. Will Rogers Park, Lincoln Park, Trosper Park, and Woodson Park were once connected by the Grand Boulevard loop, some sections of which no longer exist. Martin Park Nature Center is a natural habitat in far northwest Oklahoma City. Will Rogers Park is home to the Lycan Conservatory, the Rose Garden, and Butterfly Garden, all built in the WPA era. Oklahoma City is home to the American Banjo Museum, which houses a large collection of highly decorated banjos from the early 20th century and exhibits on the history of the banjo and its place in American history. Concerts and lectures are also held there.

In April 2005, the Oklahoma City Skate Park at Wiley Post Park was renamed the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park to recognize Mat Hoffman, an Oklahoma City area resident and businessman that was instrumental in the design of the skate park and is a 10-time BMX World Vert champion.[83] In March 2009, the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park was named by the National Geographic Society Travel Guide as one of the "Ten Best."[84][85]

Government

Oklahoma City Civic Center, including the art deco city hall building.

The City of Oklahoma City has operated under a council-manager form of city government since 1927.[86]Mick Cornett serves as Mayor, having first been elected in 2004, and re-elected in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Eight councilpersons represent each of the eight wards of Oklahoma City. City Manager Jim Couch was appointed in late 2000. Couch previously served as assistant city manager, Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (MAPS) director and utilities director prior to his service as city manager.

The city has called on residents to vote for sales tax-based projects to revitalize parts of the city. The Bricktown district is the best example of such an initiative. In the recent MAPS 3 vote, the city's fraternal order of police criticized the project proposals for not doing enough to expand the police presence to keep up with the growing residential population and increased commercial activity. In September 2013, Oklahoma City area attorney David Slane announced that he would pursue legal action regarding MAPS3, on claims that the multiple projects that made up the plan violate a state constitutional law limiting voter ballot issues to a single subject.[87]

Education

Higher education

The city is home to several colleges and universities. Oklahoma City University, formerly known as Epworth University, was founded by the United Methodist Church on September 1, 1904 and is renowned for its performing arts, science, mass communications, business, law, and athletic programs. OCU has its main campus in the north-central section of the city, near the city's chinatown area. OCU Law is located in the Midtown district near downtown, in the old Central High School building.

Primary and secondary

Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

Oklahoma City is home to the state's largest school district, Oklahoma City Public Schools.[90] The district's Classen School of Advanced Studies and Harding Charter Preparatory High School rank high among public schools nationally according to a formula that looks at the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by the school's students divided by the number of graduating seniors.[91] In addition, OKCPS's Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School was named the top middle school in the state according to the Academic Performance Index, and recently received the Blue Ribbon School Award, in 2004 and again in 2011.[92] KIPP Reach College Preparatory School in Oklahoma City received the 2012 National Blue Ribbon along with its school leader, Tracy McDaniel Sr., being awarded the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership.

Media

Print

The Oklahoman is Oklahoma City's major daily newspaper and is the most widely circulated in the state. NewsOK.com is the Oklahoman's online presence. Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City's independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, restaurant reviews and movie listings and music and entertainment. The Journal Record is the city's daily business newspaper and okcBIZ is a monthly publication that covers business news affecting those who live and work in Central Oklahoma.

There are numerous community and international newspapers locally that cater to the city's ethnic mosaic; such as The Black Chronicle, headquartered in the Eastside, the OK VIETIMES and Oklahoma Chinese Times, located in Asia District, and various Hispanic community publications. The Campus is the student newspaper at Oklahoma City University. Gay publications include The Gayly Oklahoman.

An upscale lifestyle publication called Slice Magazine is circulated throughout the metropolitan area. In addition, there is a magazine published by Back40 Design Group called The Edmond Outlook. It contains local commentary and human interest pieces direct-mailed to over 50,000 Edmond residents.

Broadcast

Oklahoma City was home to several pioneers in radio and television broadcasting. Oklahoma City's WKY Radio was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River and the third radio station in the United States.[93] WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has continually broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, WKY was purchased by E.K. Gaylord's Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with the NBC Red Network; in 1949, WKY-TV (channel 4) went on the air and later became the first independently owned television station in the U.S. to broadcast in color.[93] In mid-2002, WKY radio was purchased outright by Citadel Broadcasting, who was bought out by Cumulus Broadcasting in 2011. The Gaylord family earlier sold WKY-TV in 1976, which has gone through a succession of owners (what is now KFOR-TV is currently owned by Tribune Broadcasting as of December 2013).

Despite the market's geographical size, none of the English-language commercial affiliates in the Oklahoma City designated market area operate full-power satellite stations to the far northwest part of the state (requiring cable or satellite to view them), though KFOR-TV, KOCO-TV, KWTV-DT and KOKH-TV each operate low-power translators in that portion of the market. Oklahoma City is one of the few markets located between Chicago and Dallas to have affiliates of two or more of the major Spanish-language broadcast networks: Telemundo affiliate KTUZ-TV (channel 30), Woodward-based Univision affiliate KUOK 35 (whose translator KUOK-CD, channel 36, serves the immediate Oklahoma City area), Azteca América affiliate KOHC-CD (channel 45) and Estrella TV affiliate KOCY-LP (channel 48).

Infrastructure

Fire Department

Oklahoma City is protected by the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OKCFD), which employs 1015 paid, professional firefighters. The current Chief of Department is G. Keith Bryant, the department is also commanded by three Deputy Chiefs, who – along with the department chief – oversee the Operational Services, Prevention Services, and Support Services bureaus. The OKCFD currently operates out of 37 fire stations, located throughout the city in six battalions. The OKCFD also operates a fire apparatus fleet of 36 engines (including 30 paramedic engines), 13 ladders, 16 brush patrol units, six water tankers, two hazardous materials units, one Technical Rescue Unit, one Air Supply Unit, six Arson Investigation Units, and one Rehabilitation Unit. Each engine is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one to two firefighters, while each ladder company is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one firefighter. Minimum staffing per shift is 213 personnel. The Oklahoma City Fire Department responds to over 70,000 emergency calls annually.[94][95][96]

Major state expressways through the city include Lake Hefner Parkway (SH-74), the Kilpatrick Turnpike, Airport Road (SH-152), and Broadway Extension (US-77) which continues from I-235 connecting Central Oklahoma City to Edmond. Lake Hefner Parkway runs through northwest Oklahoma City, while Airport Road runs through southwest Oklahoma City and leads to Will Rogers World Airport. The Kilpatrick Turnpike loops around north and west Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City also has several major national and state highways within its city limits. Shields Boulevard (US-77) continues from E.K. Gaylord Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City and runs south eventually connecting to I-35 near the suburb of Moore. Northwest Expressway (Oklahoma State Highway 3) runs from North Classen Boulevard in north-central Oklahoma City to the northwestern suburbs.

Air

Oklahoma City is served by two primary airports, Will Rogers World Airport and the much smaller Wiley Post Airport (incidentally, the two honorees died in the same plane crash in Alaska)[97] Will Rogers World Airport is the state's busiest commercial airport, with over 3.6 million passengers annually.[98]Tinker Air Force Base, in southeast Oklahoma City, is the largest military air depot in the nation; a major maintenance and deployment facility for the Navy and the Air Force, and the second largest military institution in the state (after Fort Sill in Lawton).

United Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft at the East Concourse of Will Rogers World Airport.

Rail and bus

Amtrak has a train station downtown, with daily service to Fort Worth and the nation's rail network via the Heartland Flyer. Oklahoma City once was the crossroads of several interstate passenger railroads, but service at that level has long since been discontinued. Greyhound and several other intercity bus companies serve Oklahoma City at the Union Bus Station in downtown.

Public transit

METRO Transit is the city's public transit company. The main transfer terminal is located downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue. METRO Transit maintains limited coverage of the city's main street grid using a hub-and-spoke system from the main terminal, making many journeys impractical due to the rather small number of bus routes offered and that most trips require a transfer downtown. The city has recognized that transit as a major issue for the rapidly growing and urbanizing city and has initiated several studies in recent times to improve upon the existing bus system starting with a plan known as the Fixed Guideway Study.[99] This study identified several potential commuter transit routes from the suburbs into downtown OKC as well as feeder-line bus and/or rail routes throughout the city.

Riders prepare to board the Amtrak Heartland Flyer.

Though Oklahoma City currently has no light rail or commuter rail service, city residents identified improved transit as one of their top priorities and from the fruits of the Fixed Guideway and other studies city leaders strongly desire to incorporate urban rail transit into the region's future transportation plans. The greater Oklahoma City metropolitan transit plan identified from the Fixed Guideway Study includes streetcar in the downtown section that would be fed by enhanced city bus service and commuter rail from the suburbs including Edmond, Norman, and Midwest City. There is a significant push for a commuter rail line connecting downtown OKC with the eastern suburbs of Del City, Midwest City, and Tinker Air Force Base. In addition to commuter rail, a short heritage rail line that would run from Bricktown just a few blocks away from the Amtrak station to the Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City is currently under reconstruction.

On December 2009, Oklahoma City voters passed MAPS 3, the $777 million (7-year 1-cent tax) initiative, which will include funding (appx $130M) for an estimated 5-to-6-mile (8.0 to 9.7 km) modern streetcar in downtown Oklahoma City and the establishment of a transit hub. It is believed the streetcar would begin construction in 2014 and be in operation around 2017.

On September 10, 2013 the federal government announced Oklahoma City would receive $13.8M grant from the US Department of Transportation's TIGER program. This is the first ever grant for Oklahoma City for rail-based initiative and is thought to be somewhat of a turning point by city leaders who have previously applied for grants only to continuously be denied. It is believed the city will use the TIGER grant along with approximately $10M from the MAPS 3 Transit budget to revitalize the city's Amtrak station as an Intermodal Transportation Hub, taking over the role of the existing transit hub at NW 5th/Hudson Ave.

Walkability

A 2013 study by Walk Score ranked Oklahoma City 43rd most walkable out of the 50 largest U.S. cities.[100]

Health

OU Physicians Center.

Oklahoma City and the surrounding metropolitan area are home to a number of health care facilities and specialty hospitals. In Oklahoma City's MidTown district near downtown resides the state's oldest and largest single site hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Physicians Medical Center.

OU Medicine, an academic medical institution located on the campus of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, is home to OU Medical Center. OU Medicine operates Oklahoma's only level-one trauma center at the OU Medical Center and the state's only level-one trauma center for children at Children's Hospital at OU Medicine,[101] both of which are located in the Oklahoma Health Center district. Other medical facilities operated by OU Medicine include OU Physicians and OU Children's Physicians, the OU College of Medicine, the Oklahoma Cancer Center and OU Medical Center Edmond, the latter being located in the northern suburb of Edmond.

INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

INTEGRIS Health owns several hospitals, including INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, the INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma,[102] and the INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center.[103] INTEGRIS Health operates hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, independent living centers and home health agencies located throughout much of Oklahoma. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center was named in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 list of Best Hospitals. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center ranks high-performing in the following categories: Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Nephrology; Orthopedics; Pulmonology and Urology.

The Midwest Regional Medical Center located in the suburb of Midwest City; other major hospitals in the city include the Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center. There are 347 physicians for every 100,000 people in the city.[104]

In the American College of Sports Medicine's annual ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas on the basis of community health, Oklahoma City took last place in 2010, falling five places from its 2009 rank of 45.[105] The ACSM's report, published as part of its American Fitness Index program, cited, among other things, the poor diet of residents, low levels of physical fitness, higher incidences of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than the national average, low access to recreational facilities like swimming pools and baseball diamonds, the paucity of parks and low investment by the city in their development, the high percentage of households below the poverty level, and the lack of state-mandated physical education curriculum as contributing factors.[106]